Interfolding machine



Aug. 5, 1930. w. H. CANNARD INTERFOLDING MAQ HINE Filed Aug. 1, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inofenfor:

' 2701i C'cvnwzardg Aug. 5, 1930.

W. H. CANNARD INTERFOLDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 1, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jhvenfbr: mEC'a/nmrd,

-Aug. 5, 1930. w. H. CANNARD I 1,772,123

INTERFOLDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 1, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 closed.

Patented Aug. 5, 1930 INTERFOLDING MACHINE Application filed August 1,

This invention relates to improvements in interfolding machines and, more particular- 1y, to machines for interfolding and packaging sheets of paper and the like.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an interi'olding machine of the type specified with mechanism operating in a novel way to rapidly and accurately fold sheets fed to the machine.

Another object of the invention isto provide an interfolding machine having tuck- J ers with a pair of packers for eachtucker and cooperating therewith to produce a pair of folds for each cycle of operation.

A further object is to provide a machine of the type'spe cified with upper and lower tuckers each having a pair of packers with which it cooperates to fold the sheets in op posite directions, the tucker being brought into cooperative relation with its packers alternately, thus producing two folded and in-' terfolded sheets for each cycle of operation.

Still another object is to provide an interfolding machine with novel feed means for feeding sheets continuously to the'interfold ing mechanism, the feed means being arranged to speed up delivery of the sheets to insure proper overlapping of successive sheets. g

Other obiects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and in part more fully brought out as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated a practical embodiment of my invention; but it is to be understood that the drawings are illustrative, merely, and are not to be construed as limiting the invention to the specific structural elements therein dis- It is obvious that many modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrific ing any of its salient features and advantages.

In these drawings Fig. 1 is'a side elevation, partlyin section and partlydiagrammatic, showing the interfolding mechanism of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, more or less diagrammatic, showing particularly the action 1928. Serial No. 286,677.

of the packers, there being shown but one of each of the. pairs of packers .for the sake of clearness; and

Fi g. 3 is a side elevation fromthe opposite end of the machine and shows particularly the driving mechanism for all the operating parts. a In the drawings, I have illustrated only such parts ofthe machine :as are essential to a complete understanding of my invention.

The reference-numeral 1 indicates the main drive-shaft of the machine from which all of the operating parts receive their anotion. This shaft drivesdirectly a gear 2 on a bed roll 3 over which travels the paper or other material to be folded, the paper being guided over the bed-roll by means of guide-rolls '4 and 5. Paper is supplied to the-machine in the form of a continuous'web'from a large roll suitably supported at the rear of the machine, as in common practice. I

Immediately above the bed-roll 3 is mounted a cutter-roll 6 drivenhy a gear 7 which meshes with the gear 2 on the bed-roll. The cutter-roll is provided with a cutter blad'e which enters a groove in the bed-roll in {the usual manner. By thismeans, the web, of paper issever ed into sheets and theleading end of the sheet is carried by pins on the bedroll to thefeed mechanism now to be described v The feed mechanism includes feed-rolls 8, 9 and 10 and a plurality of belts 11 which carry the sheets forward and downward be tween strippers 1'2 and 13. The upper feedrolls 8 are driven directly'by the bed-roll through a gear 14 which meshes with the gear 2, while the lowerufeed-rolls 9 and 10 are driven from the bed-roll through inter mediate gearing 15 and 16. The shafts sup porting the feed-rolls 9 and 10 are provided with intermeshing gears 17 by which they are rotated in unison and whichalsoserve to drive the shaft of one of the sets oflpackers," as hereinafter more fully described.-

The gearing 15, '16, is so constructed and arranged that the-lower feed-rolls will. be driven at a predetermined greater speed than the'rpperrollsso that the sheet will gain one third its length. This is an importantfea ture of my invention and insures that the sheets will overlap the proper amount for the interfolding action presently to be described.

The folding mechanism includes an upper tucker 18 having a tucker-blade 19 and a lower tucker 20 having a tucker-blade 21. The tucker 18 is pivoted intermediate its ends at 2 and is provided with a cam-roller 23 which rides on the periphery of a cam 24 mounted on a cam-shaft 25. The tucker 20 is pivoted at 26 and is provided with a cam-roller 2"? which rides on the periphery of a cam 28 also mounted on the cam-shaft 25. The camshaft 5 has direct driving connection with the main shaft 1 through a gear 29. From the drawings, it will be clear that the cams 24 and 28 are so arranged that upon rotation of the camshaft 25 thetuokers 18 and 20 will be alternately depressed and elevated, thus forming, in conjunction with the packers now to be describe-d, alternate folds at the upper and lower edges of the sheets.

In order to carrying out the principal object of myinvention, which is to speed up production and at the same time insure accuracy of folding, I have provided the machine with a pair of packers for each of the tuckers. Thus, the tucker 18 cooperates with the upper packers 30 and 31 and the tucker 20 with the lower packers 32 and 33. The packers 30 and 81 are eccentrically mounted on a shaft 34 and are provided near their lower ends with ears or lugs 35 and 36 which are pivoted on a shaft 37. The packers 32 and 33 are eccentrically mounted on a; shaft 38 and are provided near their upper ends with ears or lugs 39 and 40 whichare pivoted on a shaft 41. The shaft 34 which actuates the upper packers is providedwith a gear 42 which receives its motion from the gears 17 heretofore described. Thus, the upper packers are actuated in properly timed rela tion to their cooperating tucker 18. The shaft 38 is provided with a sprocket-wheel 43 which is rotated by a sprocket chain 44 operated by a sprocket-wheel 45 on the main drive-shaft 1. Thus, the lower packers are actuated in properly timed relation to their cooperating tucker 20. V

From an inspection of Fig. 1, it will be clear that the pairs of packers are so mounted upon their respective shafts that they will alternately assume a position wherein they cooperate with their respective tuckerblade to form the tuck and then move to a position where they crease the tucked portion and press the folded sheet against the stack of previously folded sheets. Thus, in Fig. 1, the-lower packer 32 is in position to re ceive the tucker-blade 21 to form a fold at the lower edge of the sheet and at the same time the upper packer 80 is'pressing the sheet g which has ]ust 'beenfolded at the upper against the stack of previously folded sheets. The other upper packer 31. is shown moving out into position to receive the tucker blade 19 for making the succeeding fold at the upper edge. It will thus be seen that for each revolution of the shafts 34 and 38 two folds will be produced at each edge of the sheets and, therefore, two sheets will be completely folded and inter-folded for each cycle of operation.

In Fig. 2 1 have illustrated somewhat diagrammatically the movement of the packers. The dotted lines Y'indicate the evolution of the eccentrics in the course of the rotation of the shafts 34 and 88, while the dotted lines X indicate the path of travel of the packers, this path being elliptical. In this figure, the packers 30 and 32 are in thesame position as that illustrated in Fig. 1. The upper .er which it will follow the arrows in an upward and forward movement until it presses the sheet which has just been tucked against the stack. The elliptical movement of the packers is an important featureofmy invention and insures that each of the packers will at the proper time be in position to receive its cooperating tucker-blade and .after thefold has been made, continued movement of the packers will crease the sheet at the fold line and will also press it against the previously folded sheets.

To receive and hold the sheets as they are folded and interfolded, I have provided a lower table member 46 and an upper sup-' porting member 47. The latter is made 0 any desired length and determines the size of the package of interfolded sheets. It may be added that when the machine is first started, it is desirable to place a block of wood or other convenient object on the table 46 so that there will be something against which the first sheets may be folded and pressed. It is believed that the inventionhas now been fully and clearly brought. out and that its many objectsand advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art. While the description and drawings have been made as for a machine having a single folding mechanism, it will be obvious that the machine may be made of sufiicient length to provide two or more such mechanisms and that, there folding mechanism including a tucker,

of packers cooperating therewith to fold the sheets, and meansto operate said tucker and packers to bring the tucker into cooperat ve fore, two or more packages of, interfolded relation with each of said packers alternately.

2. In a machine for inter-folding sheets, folding mechanism including a pivotally mounted tucker, a pair of eccentrically mounted packers adapted to cooperate therewith to fold the sheets, means to oscillate said tucker, means to actuate said packers, and mechanism common to said means to operate them in synchronism, whereby the tucker is brought into cooperative relation with said packers alternately.

3. In a machine for interfolding and pack aging sheets, folding mechanism including a pair of tuckers, a pair of packers cooperating with each of said tuckers to fold the sheets, means to operate said tuckers and packers alternately to fold the sheets at opposite edges, and means common to each of said tuckers and its respective pair of packers to bring the tucker into cooperative relation with each of the packers alternately.

4. In a machine for interfolding sheets, means for continuously feeding sheets, a pair of tuckers adapted to engage the sheets in opposite directions, a pair of packers cooperating With each of said tuckers to fold the sheets at opposite edges to produce a package of interfolded sheets, and means to operate said tuckers and pairs of packers alternately to bring each ofsaid tuckers into cooperative relation with its packers alternately, to produce a pair of folds at each edge of the package for each cycle of operation.

5. In a machine for interfolding and'packaging sheets, means for feeding sheets, and means for folding the same, said folding means including a pair of pivotally mounted tuckers, means for periodically oscillating said tuckers about their respective pivots, a pair of packers cooperating with each of said tuckers, means for operating said packers, and means common to said oscillating means and said packer-operating means for operating them simultaneously and in synchronism to bring each of the tuckers alternately into cooperative relation with each of its respective packers.

6. In a machine for interfolding and packaging sheets, means for feeding sheets and means for folding the same and forming a package thereof, said folding means including a pair of shafts, a pair of packers eccentrically mounted on each of said shafts, pivotally mounted tuckers adapted to cooperate with said packers to fold the sheets, means to rotate said shafts, means to oscillate said tuckers, and mechanism common to said rotating means and said oscillating means for operating them in synchronism.

7. In a machine for interfolding and pack aging sheets, means for feeding sheets, means for folding the same and forming a package thereof, and means to receive said package,

said folding means including a pair of shafts,

one above and the other below said packagereceiving means, a pair of packers eccentrically mounted on each of said shafts, tuckers adapted to cooperate with said pairs of packers to fold the sheets, and means to rotate said shafts to bring said packers alternately into cooperative relation with said tuckers.

8. In a machine for interfolding and packaging sheets, folding mechanism operative to produce a pair of folds at each edge of the package for each cycle of operation, means to feed sheets to the folding mechanism, and means to increase the rate of feed of the sheets, whereby a pair of sheets are folded and interfolded for each cycle of operation.

9. In a machine for interfolding and packaging sheets, folding mechanism operative to produce a pair of folds at each edge of the package for each cycle of operation, means to feed sheets to the folding mechanism, and means including a feed-roll traveling at a predetermined greater speed than said feedv means to increase the rate of feed of the sheets to the folding mechanlsm.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

WILLIAM H. CANNARD. 

